Liverpool City Council’s Mayor Joe Anderson has been busy claiming that the council faces bankruptcy.

However the Liverpool Daily Post reports on a half million pound pay off to David McElhanney, the chief executive of Liverpool Direct, of join venture company between the council and BT. Apparently had been working in Lancashire half the time.

Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis says:

“Liverpool City Council cannot wash its hands of its own joint venture company. The public are entitled to know what they are doing with taxpayers’ money. Any large payments shred the credibility of the mayor’s claims that the city could be bankrupt because of lack of funding.

“The council is clearly pouring taxpayers’ money down the drain, and tackling senior pay bills is one of the commonsense ways that sensible savings can be made by councils.”

The arrangements are unclear. There certainly seems to have been a lack of transparency and a lot of money sloshing around.